Covid-19: Finally, two digits again

Sarawak records 98 new cases, lowest since February; ICU bed usage continues downward trend

KUCHING: Sarawak’s daily Covid-19 cases fell below the 100mark for the first time in months yesterday with 98 new infections reported, said the State Disaster Management Commi ee (SDMC).

The last time Sarawak recorded below 100 cases was on Feb 8 this year with 84.

On the breakdown of cases, SDMC said Kuching recorded 34 cases followed by Miri (17), Sibu (12), Lawas (10), Bintulu (7) and Dalat (5), while Samarahan, Limbang, Kanowit, Kapit, Matu, Song and Asajaya each recorded less than five cases.

SDMC in its daily update statement said that 93 out of yesterday’s cases were in Category 1 (asymptomatic) and Category 2 (mild symptoms).

“Two cases were in Category 3 (lung infection), two in Category 4 (lung infection and requiring oxygen) and one in Category 5 (lung infection and requiring ventilator support),” said SDMC.

Sarawak also recorded two Covid-19 deaths with one in Samarahan on Nov 26 and the other in Kuching the next day.

The death reported in Samarahan was a Brought In Dead (BID) case involving a 79year-old woman whose body was brought to the Sarawak Heart Centre.

She had a medical history of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, renal disease and heart disease.

The death in Kuching involved a man aged 78 at Sarawak General Hospital who had comorbidities of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

SDMC also said no new Covid19 clusters were recorded in the state yesterday.

Currently, only four Covid-19 clusters remain active, namely the Putai 2 Cluster in Bukit Mabong; Ensurai Cluster in Limbang; Jalan Sultan Tengah Rampangi Cluster in Kuching; and Jalan Ong Tiang Swee Cluster in Kuching.

Meanwhile, Sarawak’s intensive care unit (ICU) bed utilisation rate dropped further to 42.9 per cent on Sunday from 47.8 per cent the previous day.

An infographic shared by the Health Ministry on its Facebook page yesterday showed Sarawak’s usage of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients was the second lowest in the country.

The national ICU bed utilisation rate was at 62 per cent on Sunday, according to the infographic.

Terengganu recorded a utilisation rate of 83.1 per cent followed by Penang (79.6 per cent), Klang Valley (77.5 per cent), Kelantan (75.9 per cent), Sabah (70.8 per cent), Perak (68.1 per cent) and Melaka (63 per cent).

Apart from Sarawak, states and territories that reported utilisation rates lower than the national rate were Negeri Sembilan (60.5 per cent), Labuan (58.3 per cent), Perlis (52.6 per cent), Johor (50.3 per cent) and Kedah (47.3 per cent.)

Pahang had the lowest ICU bed utilisation rate at 24.6 per cent.